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| Mary M. Zutter, M.D. | |
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| Dennis E. Hallahan, M.D. |
Host-Tumor Interactions Research Program
- Program Leader: Mary M. Zutter, M.D.
Co-Leader: Dennis E. Hallahan, M.D.
Program Description
Scientific Goals
The Host-Tumor Interaction (HT) Program views the development of cancer as an event initiated by mutational events in the tumor cell, but profoundly influenced by the interaction of these cells with the molecular and cellular components that make up the tumor microenvironment. Processes such as tumor invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis are dependent on complex interactions with the host, and drive the progression of the tumor to a stage that resists standard forms of therapy. There is experimental evidence that interruption of host:tumor communication can attenuate or reverse tumor progression, providing incentive to understand the molecular nature of these communication signals and to develop targeted therapies that capitalize on the powerful control a “normal” environment can exert over the tumor. Thus, the scientific goals of the HT Program are to:
- Identify molecules involved in communication between the tumor and host
- Develop new reagents and techniques capable of validating a molecular therapeutic target (imaging techniques, antibodies, probes, genetically altered mice, small molecules, etc)
- Develop in vitro and in vivo model systems for proof-of-principle experimentation and testing of therapeutics
Specific Aims
The specific interests of HT Program members fall into two broad areas: 1) Cell:cell and cell:matrix interactions, and 2) angiogenesis and vasculogenesis. Understanding the complex interactions between a tumor and the microenvironment, and translating these findings into benefit for the cancer patient, requires a trans-disciplinary approach. In order to meet the scientific goals, the strategic goals/specific aims of the HT Program are to:
- Coordinate and catalyze collaborative work
- Facilitate development of reagents, assays, and models to identify cellular and molecular components involved in host:tumor interaction
- Identify funding opportunities related to the scientific focus areas
- Interface Program members with investigators outside Vanderbilt with common interests, including those with Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical perspectives
Areas of Research Program Expertise
Program members focus on the cellular and molecular interactions between the tumor and the surrounding microenvironment that influence tumor development, growth and progression. There are two focus groups within the program: investigators into cell:cell and cell:matrix interactions, and vasculogenesis/ angiogenesis. Although investigators are placed primarily into one area or the other, there is considerable overlap in interests.
Cell:cell and cell:matrix interactions
Within the program, one subgroup focuses on identifying the molecules involved in communication between tumor cells and their cellular and structural microenvironment. The molecules that are being investigated fall into several broad classes, including growth factors and their receptors, extracellular matrix (ECM) and ECM-degrading proteases, and adhesion molecules and the associated cytoskeleton. The cellular components include blood-borne inflammatory/immune cells and resident fibroblasts, in addition to the focus on endothelial cells represented in the angiogenesis/vasculogenesis subgroup. The Program also has considerable expertise in cell:cell and cell:matrix adhesion molecules. In addition, there is considerable interest and expertise within the HT Program in using non-invasive imaging techniques to monitor changes in the structural microenvironment that surround tumors.
Angiogenesis/vasculogenesis
Within the angiogenesis/vasculogenesis group, there is a strong focus on the molecular components that regulate the assembly of new blood vessels. Program expertise includes research into the role of growth factors, in particular in the TGFbeta and FGF families, in the development of the vascular system; the response of tumor vasculature to ionizing radiation; the critical role that Ephrins and their receptors, the Ephs, have in the formation of new blood vessels in the tumor angiogenic response; research in mediating tumor angiogenesis via Tie-2, the receptor for angiopoietins; research interests in the complex biological effects of tumor-produced VEGF; and considerable interest in developing novel imaging techniques to monitor the development and progression of tumor angiogenesis, and its response to therapeutic intervention.
Program Members
Program members and academic departmental affiliation are listed below.
- Donald J. Alcendor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
- Dean W. Ballard, Ph.D., Professor
- Joey V. Barnett, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Medicine, Director of Graduate Studies in Pharmacology
- Neil A. Bhowmick, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
- Mark R. Boothby, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Associate Professor of Medicine
- Jorge H. Capdevila, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine
- Richard M. Caprioli, Ph.D., Stanley Cohen Professor of Biochemistry, Director of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center
- Pierre Chaurand, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor
- Jin Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Professor of Cell and Development Biology, Associate Professor of Cancer Biology
- Punita Dhawan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
- John C. Gore, Ph.D., Professor, Director, Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science
- Dennis E. Hallahan, M.D., Chairman, Radiation Oncology Center, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, Professor of Cancer Biology and Biomedical Engineering
- Steven K. Hanks, Ph.D., Professor
- Simon W. Hayward, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Urologic Surgery and Cancer Biology
- Billy G. Hudson, Ph.D., Elliot V. Newman Professor Med/Biochem, Dir, Ctr Matrix Biol
- Irina Kaverina, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
- P. Charles Lin, Ph.D., Professor
- Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, Ph.D., Assitant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
- Lynn M. Matrisian, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Cancer Biology
- Harold L. Moses, M.D., Director Emeritus, Hortense B. Ingram Professor of Molecular Oncology, Professor of Cancer Biology, Medicine and Pathology
- Gregory R. Mundy, M.D., John A. Oates Chair in Translational Medicine, Director, Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology, Professor of Medicine (Clinical Pharmacology), Pharmacology, Cancer Biology and Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation
- Josiah Ochieng, Ph.D., Professor of Cancer Biology
- Richard Peek, M.D., Director, Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition), Associate Professor of Cancer Biology
- Ambra Pozzi, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine (Nephrology) and Cancer Biology
- Vito Quaranta, M.D., Professor of Cancer Biology
- Ann W. Richmond, Ph.D., Professor of Cancer Biology, Medicine and Cell & Developmental Biology
- Takamune Takahashi, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine (Nephrology)
- Luc Van Kaer, Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
- Alissa Weaver, M.D. , Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology and Pathology
- John P. Wikswo, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Gordon A Cain University Professor, Director, VIIBRE
- Thomas E. Yankeelov, Ph.D., Director of Cancer Imaging, VUIIS, Assistant Professor of Radiology, Physics and Astronomy, and Biomedical Engineering
- Roy Zent, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine (Nephrology), Cancer Biology, and Cell & Developmental Biology
- Andries Zijlstra, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology, Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology
- Mary M. Zutter, M.D., Director of Hematopathology, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, Professor of Pathology, Cancer Biology, and Microbiology & Immunology
